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CIGAR BOX GUITARS A fairly typical 4 string electric model.  Ash neck with cherry  fingerboard.  Open backed tuners.  Magnetic pickup.  Nice retro bakelite (I think) volume knob.  Strung with the middle 4 of a set of Ernie Ball "Beefies" - a bit like telephone wires but a fabulous sound with a slide.   mp3 Sound Sample 1:  Slide1                 Yes, I know this example is cheating (well sort of) but as far as I'm concerned anything goes and in this case the ends definitely justified the means!  This was a good way of using up lots of odds and ends left over in the box of tricks.  It's a bit of a mongrel, but it really rocks!  it's easily loud enough to be played unplugged, and would be even better if strung with acoustic strings.    Some more examples   This one is acoustic and has toothpick frets.  The box was rather plain so I had some fun painting on the "Great Balls of Fire"    mp3 sound sample: gballsoffire 4 String Electric. Pickup mounted in the through-neck section.        3 String With Soundboard pickup     Another 4 string electric similar to the 1st one, and an Acoustic cigar box mandolin.  The neck is conventionally shaped on the mandolin unlike the cbgs.                                                                                mp3 soundsample : mandopick                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Cigar box Soprano Ukulele.  The box base was damaged so I removed it and replaced it with a mahogany top.  Hours of fun with one of these.  The box still opens due to the cunning neck joint so you can hide stuff inside.     Another 3 String Acoustic A 6-String made from an old cutlery box for a customer in the USA.  A fair bit of work was needed on the box. The switch is a 4 way giving series/neck/parallel/bridge.  The pickup surrounds and switch plate were made from an old scratchplate and subjected to my secret ageing process.          Cigar Box Concert Ukulele Similar to the earlier soprano, but with the slightly longer scale length. Again I replaced a dodgy base with laminated mahogany.  I left the wonderfully non-pc picture on the back!           mp3sound sample: ssofthestreet Another six string.  This one's got Wilkinson P90 pickups and was generously described by its new owner as having a lovely warm and bright sound, a bit like an ES 335.  I wish!   4 STRING ELECTRIC CBG This was built for the bassist in the Excellos. He wanted a voodoo type theme, I think I may have overdone it a bit!  Thestrings were Ernie Ball's not even Slinkys (might as well used bass strings).   Another Concert Scale length Ukulele A Tenor Ukulele with a pommele sapele top built for a customer who wanted a cat theme! RESONATOR SPECIAL Modified old microscope box. Tin plate cone, cover plate, pup surround, tailpiece made from old PC case! 4 STRING WITH HUMBUCKER         CIGAR BOX GUITARS If raw down-home Delta style blues is your thing then look no further.  You don't need 6 strings (or necessarily even frets) to play the blues, 4 or even 3 are quite enough.  There is a huge upsurge in interest in these instruments in the States at the moment, and you can get an idea of how good they can sound by listening to some of the clips on youtube . Try Shane Speal. They are particularly effective for slide playing using open tunings.   In terms of construction almost anything goes. Traditionally they were built using whatever materials were at hand including nails for frets and pretty much anything for the bridge and nut.  The necks were often made from a piece of 2 by 1 timber.   I prefer to use the through neck method and partly shape the back of the neck to make it a bit more comfortable.  Almost any decent piece of hardwood will do.  A truss rod is not necessary if  the guitar is being used exclusively for slide playing.  I generally cut fret slots and fill them with rosewood veneer to make fret markers.  I make aluminium nuts and bridges when possible and use string ball-ends as string ferrules.   If electrifying, I generally use magnetic rather than contact/piezo type pickups.  Although I do sometimes use soundboard type pickups if requested.

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